London fire: Investigation launched after fire destroys business centre - watch video

An investigation has been launched after a massive fire destroyed a mixed-use building in East London on Friday evening (25 August). Around 100 firefighters were deployed to the scene on Bow Road in Bow which saw 15 people evacuated as a result of the incident.

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) described it a "very visible fire" and said the majority of the roof of the six-story structure was damaged. The source of the fire is currently being investigated and no injuries have been reported.

Assistant Commissioner for Operational Control and Resilience, Pat Goulbourne, said: "This was a challenging and complex fire but our crews worked quickly and tirelessly to restrict damage to homes and ensure that no one was hurt.

"Our Control Officers took 123 calls about this incident and responded quickly, with a fire engine on scene three minutes after the first emergency call was received.

"At the same time, we were also dealing with another significant fire elsewhere in London. However, our Control Officers are trained to manage our resources as emergencies occur, and appliances were strategically moved across London to ensure the affected areas had appropriate fire cover to allow us to continue to respond to emergencies."

LFB said emergency calls were made at 6.04pm and the fire was under control by 8.48pm. Fire crews from Bethnal Green, Whitechapel, Homerton, Shadwell, Islington, Plaistow, Shoreditch, Lewisham and surrounding fire stations attended the scene.